I hesitated to blog on this because astronaut Mark Kelly seems like a great guy who has been through a lot and been a stalwart champion of his wife, Rep. Gabby Giffords.
During his recent interview with Diane Sawyer, Commander Kelly was an inspiring figure, as was his wife. Kelly said that the situation he and his wife faced after her attempted assassination is what marriage vows are really about—for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.
We all admire the couple and are glad to see Rep. Giffords on the road to recovery.
Still, Commander Kelly should not have gone on Piers Morgan’s show on CNN and blasted Sarah Palin for not having called the congresswoman after the shooting.
Palin bears absolutely no responsibility for the shooting.
You'll recall how viciously Palin was attacked in the press, however, because she had previously used shooting imagery in political ads. Palin had said that she had various candidates “in the crosshairs.”
This is acceptable political speech, if you aren’t trying to be PC, and had nothing whatsoever to do with an apparently deranged man’s shooting people in a Tucson mall. Nevertheless, Piers Morgan harrumphed that he found Palin’s lack of contact with Giffords’ family “extraordinary.”
Kelly admitted that Palin “certainly is not responsible for what happened” but, in an odd twist of logic, seemed to believe that Palin’s actions may have contributed to the atmosphere that caused the shooting.
It was disappointing to see Commander Kelly add to the intense vilification of a conservative woman. It’s always open season on conservative women, but this surprised me.
Speaking of the phenomenon, I blogged the other day on the insulting walk-on music played on the Jimmy Fallon show the other night as GOP presidential candidate came on stage. The latest is that NBC has apologized to Bachmann, but there is no word that the drummer who pulled the stunt has in any way been disciplined. (Compare this to what happened when a Russian newsreader made an unfortunate gesture aimed at President Obama.)
It should be noted that the commander also slammed Speaker of the House John Boehner for not having gone to the hospital to visit his wife, to which Boehner has replied.
Commander Kelly, this is not the right way to sell your book.
(Hat tip to Don Surber, who urges, “Stop peddling the Palin-led-to-Giffords-shooting lie.”)